January 2, 2025; Seattle, Washington, United States; Vancouver Canucks right wing Conor Garland (8) shoots and scores a goal past Seattle Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer (31) during the second period at the Local Weather Pledge Environment. Mandatory credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Photographs
JT Miller scored the only goal of the shootout as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the host Seattle Kraken 4-3 on Thursday night.
Max Sasson, Conor Garland and Tyler Myers scored in regulation for the Canucks, who won for just the second time in their last seven games (2-2-3).
Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko stopped 11 of 12 shots before leaving at 7:49 of the second period after suffering an apparent lower-body injury in a collision with teammate Noah Juulsen.
Kevin Lankinen replaced Demko and made 13 saves on 15 shots over the remainder of regulation and OT. In the penalty shootout, the Kraken missed twice and Lankinen saved once.
Matty Beniers and Vince Dunn each had a goal and an assist and Chandler Stephenson also scored for Seattle, which had its two-game winning streak snapped. The streak included a historic 5-4 overtime victory Saturday in Vancouver when the Kraken became just the third team in NHL history to win after trailing by three goals in the final five minutes of regulation. .
Philipp Grubauer, in his third straight start for the injured Joey Daccord (upper body), stopped 19 of 22 attempts.
Dunn scored on a wrist shot from the blue line with 52.5 seconds left as the Kraken rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final 11 minutes of regulation.
Stephenson gave the Kraken the lead at 1:52 of the first period when he launched a wrist shot just outside the left faceoff spot between Demko’s pads.
The Canucks tied the score at 13:17 of the first period. Nils Hoglander’s center pass through the slot went off teammate Danton Heinen’s skate and deflected toward Sasson at the top of the box. Sasson hit Grubauer with the puck before the goalie could react.
At 7:49 of the second period, Garland scored on a breakaway after defenseman Derek Forbort forced a turnover as the Kraken attempted to enter the offensive zone. Phil Di Giuseppe sent a long pass to Garland, who faked his backhand and fired a forehand past Grubauer to take a 2-1 lead.
Myers gave the Canucks a two-goal lead with a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle at 5:35 of the third.
The Kraken closed to within 3-2 on a Beniers power-play goal at 9:05 of the third, thanks to a slick passing combination from Brandon Montour and Shane Wright.
–Media at field level
